Gold falls 2.2pc at $1,711.99 an ounce

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]






LONDON: Gold extended losses on Thursday to fall as much as $200 from Tuesday's record high, as investors cashed in scorching gains in the metal after the CME Group hiked trading margins for the precious metal for a second time this month.

Investment appetite for gold has cooled ahead of a widely awaited central bankers' meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as speculation grows over whether or not the Federal Reserve will signal a further round of U.S. monetary easing.

More quantitative easing -- or money printing -- for the Fed could significantly lift gold, but it could have further to correct if no additional action is signalled.

Spot gold was down 2.2 percent at $1,711.99 an ounce at 1101 GMT, having earlier touched a low of $1,702.44.

Investors have cashed in on gold's latest rally after the yellow metal surged nearly 20 percent in early August to record highs at $1,911.46 an ounce.

Spot prices fell 4.3 percent on Wednesday, their biggest one-day drop since December 2008, after U.S. durable goods data beat expectations. U.S. gold futures also posted their sharpest slide since 1980.

Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, declined by more than 27 tonnes on Wednesday, their biggest one-day outflow since Jan. 25. They have dropped nearly 60 tonnes this week, worth around $3.25billion at today's prices.

Gold's losses were exacerbated late on Wednesday after the CME Group, the world's largest commodities exchange, raised margins on gold futures by about 27 percent, the biggest hike in more than two and a half years and the second increase in a month. (Reuters)

goOd wOrk[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]